Good afternoon: I am in the process of looking to extend my EFL career in Turkey, and so far the only things I've heard about English Time were all negative. So I have a question: If there are any EFL teachers currently working at ET AND are (at least, slightly happy) about working there(specifically in or around Istanbul), please contact me so I can try and get a feel.

I did read that ET schools are franchised, which means usually hit and miss(not just at ET, but at any language centre). I don't plan to fly to Turkey until late summer, but some sort of a positive comment would be great. Cheers.

I know that ET has an exceptionally bad reputation 'round these parts, but I just wanted to submit a few cents.

I just arrived in Istanbul recently, and have been making the rounds of applications to English schools. Given all of the horror stories I'd heard about ET, it was at the bottom of the list, but given that I was already dressed up in business casual and walking around Kadikoy with a stack of resumes, I figured it couldn't hurt to drop one off. I talked to the head teacher there, who was a personable Australian woman, and she set up an interview at the head branch in Esentepe for the following day. I knew I wasn't very interested in working there, but figured it was worth my time as an absolute last resort or if nothing else just to compare salary offers.

The director at the head branch is pretty unprofessional. The interview was awkward, mostly about her, and full of interruptions--her getting up to greet or say goodbye to people, answer her phone and have lengthy conversations, and using the back of my resume as scratch paper to take notes on during her phone calls. I was unimpressed. I said I'd think about it, but was pretty set on never setting foot in an ET location again. As I was leaving, she encouraged me to "research" the school and come back, saying that "there are two sides to every story, and just so you know, I can sleep soundly at night." Yeah, definitely not suspicious at all. I guess she's aware of the reputation.

I crossed ET off the list. Later, I met with the friend of a friend of a friend, who I knew to be teaching English in Istanbul but didn't know where. It turned out that he is a happy employee of none other than English Time.

The guy isn't a plant. He's finishing up a 6 month contract and I can't imagine any reason he would have for lying to me, especially as our meeting wasn't arranged by ET or anything. He said that not only was his residence permit and work visa processed quickly, he is always paid on time (18 TL / hr with a TEFL certificate but no prior experience, plus 300 TL / mo housing allowance), always has two consecutive days off, always has plenty of hours but isn't given an unfair load, and is generally very happy with his experience. He anticipates a contract completion bonus as well as a travel bonus to reimburse him for flying here in the first place (signed the contract while still in his home country). Obviously that's yet to happen, but he was confident and saw no reason it wouldn't. He works in Kadikoy and says that as far as he's aware the two Kadikoy branches are the best in Istanbul--he couldn't vouch for the rest. He said that ET was the only place in Istanbul that he'd worked, but he had friends that had much worse experiences than his own at other places, and he recommended it to anyone.

Now, I know that this position is not a popular one around here. A few things I'd like to say:

--I'm still not sold. I trust this individual, but I don't know for sure that his experience is representative. He may be an exception.
--He stressed that his experience was positive in Kadikoy, but that the other branches may very well have legitimate, serious problems.
--My interview was unprofessional, but conversations with the head teacher in Kadikoy and others were positive. That one individual at the head office may just be crazy.
--He didn't have any personal experience to compare ET to, only the opinions of other people at different schools. It's possible that he just has a thick skin and doesn't mind the work there, but most people would.--There were a few negative things that he had to say about ET. One was their somewhat draconian policy on sick days, but he thought other schools were probably similar (confirmation, anyone?). Another was that the materials were pretty poor. Other than that, it was all solid.

Anyway, I just thought I'd contribute to the conversation in that way for anyone considering Istanbul schools. A lot of people have had negative experiences with ET, but not everyone. Food for thought.

It's possible that the Kad. Branch may actually have some standards. Strange no teacher from there has ever mentioned this.

However, if you speak to this fellow again, ask him if students are commonly passed by management, if they are allowed to cheat in class and if they are sometimes passed before they write exams.

We have very high standards here in Kadikoy for information. Students are not passed by management. On the contrary, they pass on merit and performance alone, and if they are on the borderline between passing and failing, it is entirely up to their teachers whether they pass or fail. Students that cheat are disciplined by having marks deducted from their exams or receiving "0". They are also read the riot act. Fake marks are never given to students!!!
The education department controls the education in each branch. l oversee every part of the education in my branches and expect both my teachers and students to behave responsibly and professionally. There are no free-rides!

l really don't know which branch you worked at or who your headteacher was. However, none of what you post is true in my branches. None!!! Maybe it would be good for a few more teachers to post in support. However, why bother really as you wouldn't believe a word they would say just like you won't take any notice of what l have said. Also l am sure that the teachers have much better things to do as do l, but l really get sick of the lies and misinformation.

My team and l work our fingers to the bone looking after our students, our teachers and the education at our branches, and honestly it really really offends me that you would imply otherwise.

We have very high standards here in Kadikoy for information. Students are not passed by management. On the contrary, they pass on merit and performance alone, and if they are on the borderline between passing and failing, it is entirely up to their teachers whether they pass or fail. Students that cheat are disciplined by having marks deducted from their exams or receiving "0". They are also read the riot act. Fake marks are never given to students!!!
The education department controls the education in each branch. l oversee every part of the education in my branches and expect both my teachers and students to behave responsibly and professionally. There are no free-rides!

l really don't know which branch you worked at or who your headteacher was. However, none of what you post is true in my branches. None!!! Maybe it would be good for a few more teachers to post in support. However, why bother really as you wouldn't believe a word they would say just like you won't take any notice of what l have said. Also l am sure that the teachers have much better things to do as do l, but l really get sick of the lies and misinformation.

My team and l work our fingers to the bone looking after our students, our teachers and the education at our branches, and honestly it really really offends me that you would imply otherwise.

I am unfamiliar with the Kad branch and will let other teachers voice their opinion (which I look forward to hearing).

I did work at the Mecidikoy, Barkirkoy and Taksim branches.
Teachers letting the students cheat was rampant at every branch.
My last yr was at Taks.
EVERYTHING I have mentioned before happened there.
The Head Teachers did nothing to stop it.
Students usually opted out of the exam to do the make up in the examination room near the office for the very simple reason that they could used books, cheat with their friends and use the telephone without the Turkish staff saying a word.

The incredible part was passing them before they even wrote the exam. I am not a liar. However, perhaps you didn't physically work there and might be truely clueless.

I remember on one occassion seeing an exam mark that made no sense. My student had done the make up exam and gotten a mark that I knew was too high. The exam had been corrected by the Head Teacher yet there were no correction marks on the pages.
Although the HT had given him an automatic 80 when I actually checked the exam he had really gotten 44.

I personally saw students never pass an exam and leave ET with advanced diplomas. At the Taksim branch they were so relaxed they openly flaunted the exams in the canteen comparing answers so they could "prep" for the exam.

Sorry ET is a joke and a laughing stock in Turkey.
Those who teach the CELTA in Ist. REFUSE to let their students do their practicum at ET for damn good reason.

I have been looking for overseas EFL jobs including in Turkiye. I have an M.A. If anyone knows where one can find university jobs, let me know.
Anyway, a friend of a friend works at English Time; he said that he doesn't get paid very well, but it's decent, and he said that he is somewhat happy there, but the curriculum is very outdated and lacking. However, he seemed to have had a positive experience there. If it is a branch thing, then some branches will be horrible and others won't be.

He was chastised for sayig that you could see transexuals on Istiklal Cadessi. Yet, the ET book talks about rapists and Child Molesters.
One or two of them shamelessly tried to protect or deflect for friends who students complained that they couldn't understand them.

Dude

Wasn't that reading about micro-economics and the need to improve conditions for children in underdeveloped countries?

Maybe I'm just not up to speed on what they are doing, but I recall that some of the readings were pretty good for Level 5.

Everything negative said about English Time is true. I worked there for 2 months on arriving to Istanbul (I got hired online) and it was horrendous. The books are a joke, full of grammatical errors, and things like "complete the exercises on the next page" and there being no exercises. The system is divided into 2 week blocks of grammar, reading, writing, and listening and speaking. That's right for 2 weeks for 4 hours a day 5 days a week you just do one skill over and over. As for everything about the cheating and passing the students who haven't learned a damn thing, I know this is 100%. With that being said, about 50%+ of my friends still work there and have signed their second contract for the reasons stated already: the pay is on-time (not so common here), you get a 300TL rent allowance, US$1600 end of contract bonus, and they take care of your residence permit and sometimes work permit. But with the new changes to the residence permit process, it is so easy and cheap this doesn't matter anymore. I worked at the Bakirkoy branch so much of my dissatisfaction also came from the commute and not being able to go home on the 5 hour break during the day. If you are 'lucky' enough to work at Taksim or Mecidikoy it's possible to stick it out.

Everything negative said about English Time is true. I worked there for 2 months on arriving to Istanbul (I got hired online) and it was horrendous. The books are a joke, full of grammatical errors, and things like "complete the exercises on the next page" and there being no exercises. The system is divided into 2 week blocks of grammar, reading, writing, and listening and speaking. That's right for 2 weeks for 4 hours a day 5 days a week you just do one skill over and over. As for everything about the cheating and passing the students who haven't learned a damn thing, I know this is 100%. With that being said, about 50%+ of my friends still work there and have signed their second contract for the reasons stated already: the pay is on-time (not so common here), you get a 300TL rent allowance, US$1600 end of contract bonus, and they take care of your residence permit and sometimes work permit. But with the new changes to the residence permit process, it is so easy and cheap this doesn't matter anymore. I worked at the Bakirkoy branch so much of my dissatisfaction also came from the commute and not being able to go home on the 5 hour break during the day. If you are 'lucky' enough to work at Taksim or Mecidikoy it's possible to stick it out.

Some teachers have limited ambition and can make money at ET doing less than the basic minimum.

Some need cash to pay bills and ET does offer hours and (in my time) paid on time.

However, if you consider yourself a Teacher and have self respect in the class room, it's tough to tolerate such an environment, compounded by your colleages falsifying marks themselves; allowing students to cheat and the HT turning a blind eye.

He said that not only was his residence permit and work visa processed quickly, he is always paid on time (18 TL / hr with a TEFL certificate but no prior experience, plus 300 TL / mo housing allowance), always has two consecutive days off, always has plenty of hours but isn't given an unfair load, and is generally very happy with his experience.

Huh...
I was only looking at this thread to compare descriptions of this school to some of the other schools I've visited and honestly, based on this thread it sounds better than average on many counts. However I see plenty of true horror stories quickly locked for not being here; it makes sense that the most unhappy posters will be too panicked to look the forums over carefully.

I definitely buy that the quality of the branches differ, and it would be nice to hear at what branches specifically the bad experiences are at. And to be fair, I'm sure that ET suffers from being large enough that horror stories will get out. Walking around Bakirköy, I've noticed a ton of small dershanes, for which I can find no information, good or bad, which doesn't mean they're not as bad as or worse than ET.

Can anybody confirm about the Kadiköy branch and the work permits? Honestly, I'd really not interested in working illegally for any significant period of time. I'd like to have an enforceable contract, and I'd seriously consider working at English Time if what I'm seeing about the Kadiköy branches is true, and it would get me a work permit (and assuming wages have since been adjusted for inflation).

Though I can see how cheating could be problematic if it's present there as well. I assume we're either talking about the schools lying to students, or students deceiving employers? I was trying to wrap my mind about why someone would pay good money to learn English and then cheat on it, and those were the only answers I could come up with.

My impression of Turkish learners is that they have tenacious ambitions. Often, they take on more than they can accomplish, and once a student begins a course, (s)he may soon discover that it is more than can be managed with success, and this might be why some cheating comes into play.

From what I understand from personal experience, the school is quite large and that work permits are pursued. In Turkey, however, most language schools employ teachers on residence permits, which is not legal but is common practice.

A lot has been written over the years about the material that is used in the classroom, and some of the criticisms are unwarranted in my opinion. It is easy to get on the bandwagon to criticize an employer's practices. However, it is unfair to blanket them with generalizations.

A lot has been written over the years about the material that is used in the classroom, and some of the criticisms are unwarranted in my opinion.

Moonshadow, have you actually seen and/or used the ET books? I have not read any criticism of them that was unwarranted. I won't repeat what others have already said about them, but I will confirm the gist of what others have said, and that is that one of the only beneficial uses they might have in a classroom is to prop up an uneven desk.

A lot has been written over the years about the material that is used in the classroom, and some of the criticisms are unwarranted in my opinion.

Moonshadow, have you actually seen and/or used the ET books? I have not read any criticism of them that was unwarranted. I won't repeat what others have already said about them, but I will confirm the gist of what others have said, and that is that one of the only beneficial uses they might have in a classroom is to prop up an uneven desk.

Actually when I refused to use the book in my class (it was much bigger in the old days) my students asked what they were supposed to do with it. I told them to put two in a big bag and they could do curls. Much cheaper than going to the gym.